Sara woke up and moaned, pain erupting all over her body as Amy walked in to see her. Her friend had a tray of food with her, and Sara ate it all, despite the agony making her sick to her stomach, just to get the pain medication in her without making her vomit. She lay on the bed to let the pills kick in, and Amy helped her into the bathroom to wash her up and she did her best to not s ream as she saw the bruises all o er her body. She had alot of healing to do, and she was humiliated by how she looed now.
Her back was a solid bruise, and her eye was swollen where she took the punch. Her arms and unbroken leg ached, and her lower lip was split open and scabbed over. She essentially looked just how she felt, and it made her feel worse as Amy sat her pain filled body on the toilet and began using a cloth to help her wash.
She felt a tiny bit better by the time Amy left, but her mood had not much improved, depression sinking in as she sat on the bed. She was at least clean though, and was wearing a pair of loose shorts and and oversized t shirt. She was propped against her headboard, the pillows inclined behind her, and she was bored out of her mind as she scrolled through her phone. She wondered what Loki was up to, and as she thought his name he looked in the door at her. She gave him a wave, and he remained in the hall as she remembered that she told him that her room was off limits.
"You can come in. I raise the restriction on my room until I feel better." She said, and he walked in, she weakly smiled at him, and saw that he had the book she was reading in his hands for her. She took it from him, and he sat in her chair by the window.
"You look awful." He said, and she snorted at his honesty. She shook her head, and she pushed herself up into more of a seated position.
"Thanks, I feel awful." She replied, and smiled at him. "Thanks for helping me, I... I heard he planned to take me off the census. You probably saved my life, I really owe you one."
"I would do it again, should I have to. You can keep your offer of a favor in return, you owe me nothing for it." He said, and he went to get up and she put her hand out to stop him. He paused, sitting again as he studied her. She sighed, and blinked, and he stared at her, her only response being to throw her hands up and fight her own depression.
"I'm a bit lonely, no one else to talk to here, do you think it would be an issue for us to just have some conversations?" She said, and looked at her nails. She could trim them, they were growing out since she stopped her nervous habit of biting them. She then began to wonder if she could paint them, even shape them a bit to make her hands look nicer. "I'm feeling a little depressed too, like I just want to lock myself in here and cry myself out."
"I can understand that, what would you like to talk about?" He asked, her and she laughed a bit. She gave him a smile, her black eye aching as her battered muscles shifted under her skin.
"Cool, can I ask questions about you?" She asked, and he sat back in the chair he gave her a curt nod as he crossed his calf over his knee and she made herself more comfortable as she thought about her first question. "Do you have a girlfriend back in Asgard?"
"No. I had a few persons, who were rather enjoyable company. They warmed my bed for a short while, but nothing that stayed. They had... different aspirations." He answered, and she gave a quick nod back to him. She got a little cold, and she tried to reach for the afghan at the foot of the bed, and hissed in pain at the mivement. Loki did not let her struggle for long, he got up and helped her cover herself.
"Thanks. I guess the other aspirations were a huge blonde that swings a hammer. Built like a brick shithouse, and grins like a goofy puppy." She said, and he nodded as he sat back down on the foot of the bed. He put one knee on the surface to face her, and he rubbed the chip in the back of his hand. Guilt shot through her, and she felt bad for not being honest with him from the beginning. "I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner about the fail safe, you don't have to forgive me. I just wanted to make sure they didn't call if I was out cold, and activated it. Fury told me about it before you arrived, he said it was for everyone's protection."
"I forgive you, and in a way, I don't blame them. I have not exactly endeared myself to Humanity as a whole." He replied, and Sara looked at him in shock. She didn't expect to be let off the hook for not telling him, but it suprised her when he did. "I now know that my passing will hurt for one person now, and that is enough."
"Thanks, and that last statement was sort of morbid to be honest, and you are interesting. I mean that. You are just too quiet sometimes, that can get a little unnerving." She reached over to her night stand, and dug out a package of twenty colorful Sharpie pens. She handed it to him, and he took it from her. "Wanna sign my cast?"
He took the package, looking at the colors, and he uncovered the knee high piece of plaster. He thought a moment, and then begin to draw on her cast, he was careful, and she watched him as he worked.
"What are you drawing?" She asked, and he gave her a sly look as he worked. A grin crossed his fave, and he looked at her from the corner of his eye as he paused his sketching.
"My genitals." He said, and she laughed at his joke. She covered her face, and he began laughing back at her as he drew elaborate vines and roses up the cast.
"You have weird looking genitals then." She laughed, and he grinned back at her as he added leaves to her cast. "The roses are pretty though."
"Thank you. I need to turn you onto your side, so I can continue this. I don't want to injure already taxed joints." He said and she shifted, he helped her turn and placed the cast on her right leg across his thighs. Her left curled along his hip, and she couldn't see what he was doing on the cast. She wanted to sit up on her hip, but her back was injured in the fall, and she didn't want to make it worse.
"I can't see what you are drawing, so it better not be your dick for real." She said, and he gave her a chuckle in response. He sketched on, and she stayed as still as she could. He finished, and he helped her see the artwork he drew on her cast by holding a hand mirror up for her. He had drawn a pond, and the roses and vines were a frame. Floating in the pond was a swan, and he added a dragonfly to the scene to give it depth, amd the trees in the background gave it a dream like quality she could not begin to imagine.
"Loki... it's gorgeous! You have alot of talent!" She said, and she saw him turn a bit red on his ears as he put away the pens and handed them back to her. She smiled at him, and their fingers brushed as he handed her the package. A tiny shock traveled up her arm, and she hid that her brain short circuted again.
"Thank you. I sketched and painted a bit in my youth, mostly landscapes, and I suppose I never lost the gift for it." He replied, and Sara smiled as she touched the drawing. He sat back down, and she watched him as he pinched one of her toes and she blushed as he gave it a wiggle.
"I am going to be depressed when they cut it off me, your picture will be ruined." She sighed, and he looked at the wall to the right of her bed as if it had another topic of conversation written on it. She rested as he vanished into thought as she watched him, she then had an idea. "Why don't you paint me a mural on that wall. It will give me something to watch, and you something to do. Also, no one will ruin it by cutting it off my leg."
"I could do that. Do you have any paints?" He asked her, and she nodded. She described where to find the box of acrylics and sealants in the basement, and she then told him where the brushes were. He went and got them, carrying the box up to her room and he moved the vanity with her makeup and perfume against the other wall. He stood in thought as he stared at the white wall, he got the idea of what he wanted then and began using a pencil form the box of brushes, began marking on the wall a vague idea of what he thought would work best.
By the time Amy came to help her with their dinner, Sara and Loki were laughing and eating peanut MMs. Sara tossed one toward him, and he weaved his head to catch it in his mouth, she laughed and he grinned back at her with it in his teeth. Amy was shocked by the beginnings of the mural, and Sara was watching Loki work. She made a list of colors he thought he would need more of on a notepad, and she smiled as he worked with what he had.
"We can go to Michaels in Puyallup soon, and get those paints, or get someone to do a run for us. It shouldn't be too much of a hassle." She said, and she wrote down another color he was going to need. Amy looked at her cast, and she smiled as she pointed to it. "Spooky drew that! Isn't it awesome?"
"It is really good. Did you eat lunch and dinner?" She asked and Sara nodded. She held up the empty pizza box from Pizza Hut and kept watching Loki, he would be stopping soon for the night, but promised to continue in the morning. Sara let him go, and he took away the dirty brushes and empty pizza box as Amy helped her get under the covers so she could sleep.
"Be careful, especially while you are injured. He may seem cool now, but he did kill people." Amy said, and Sara rolled her eyes. She sat up, groaning at the protest from her back and she frowned.
"He was keeping me from falling into a dark place, give him a break." She protested, laying back down, amd Amy shook her head. She put her hand onto her shoulder, and Sara tried to get comfortable.
"Just be careful, I am only saying that because I care about you." She said, and patted her shoulder. She stopped at the door, looking in at her friend. "See you in the morning."
"Night." Sara replied, waving to her friend as she closed her eyes. Sara pressed her lips together, and she fidgeted with her fingers nervously as she though about her friendship with Loki. She let out a long breath, and eventually, her eyes drifted shut.
--‐--
The next day, he was at it again. He stood on a low step, and she was wearing clean clothes and was freshly bathed before he picked up the brushes and got to work. Mark was doing a Michael's run, and he was working on a mountain in part of the background until he got back. He was adding snow to the peaks with quick strokes, and Sara let him converse with her as she worked a Crossword Puzzle.
"I had six horses, all of them well bred. I suppose you could call them pets, but I had little time to care for anything else. The Stablehands took care of them, I did little work for their benifit, other than taking them out for exercise. I would ride them through the fields, racing them really, I had a War Horse who was much stronger though. He was rather fierce..." He replied, and Sara nodded as he turned around and she laughed behind her hand as he accidentally wiped gray paint onto his chin with the back of his hand. He lowered the pallette that he was working from, annoyance crossing his face and he let out a breath. "What?"
"You have paint on your chin." She replied, and he laughed at himself a bit as he shook his head. "I guess horses do count as pets though, I was never allowed to have any. Darla hated them, and called them a waste of resources. She was just a heartless bitch, that couldn't be seen with anything resembling a companion." She watched him, and she did her best to try and get up and hobble to the bathroom to pee. Loki pointed to the crutches, and she grabbed them and used them as she moved.
"I imagine you had a poorer life because of her." He said, and worked a bit more paint into a spot and she closed the door but left it open a crack so that they could still talk. She managed to get her shorts and underwear down, and sat on the toilet to pee.
"Poorer is not how I would describe it. It was a living Hell most days, others, the whole family ignored me completely. I can't complain though, it doesn't help anything. No one really listens anyways, they have their own problems." She shot back, and blotted herself with a bit of tissue. She managed to wash her hands, and dry them off before she made her way back into the bedroom, and decided to sit in her chair instead of on the bed. He turned and looked at her, and she propped her broken leg up on the footstool.
"I'm listening, and I was told once, that I am fairly good at it. As the Sheriff said, this room is Vegas, and everything said here can stay here." He replied, and she laughed. He set down his pallette and took a drink of the bottled water near the box of paints, lowering himself to the step stool to sit on it as he rested a moment. She shrugged, and she waved her hand and thought a moment.
"She hated me, and in a way, her behavior was tolerated by everyone around her. Even my Dad. He would always tell me that I just had to keep the peace between Darla and me, and just do whatever she told me to do. Like it was my job to placate her, I wasn't even allowed to live up here, only in the basement." She sighed, and she saw him sitting with his elbows propped on his knees, and he pressed his lips together. "No matter what I did, she always found something wrong with everything I tried, like I couldn't even breathe the right way. She just found one thing after another to be mad at me about, and it fucking sucked. Even my friends, who never got into serious trouble, they were trash, but David... His friends, who smoked weed and got busted for shoplifting all the time, were good people."
"It hurts to be treated that way, I know that." He said, and she blinked at him in shock at what he was saying. "Odin only found my flaws, my faults, never what I did correctly. I trained harder, fought harder than any other Warrior, studied harder than the Philosophers, but it was all for naught. I could never please him, not in any sense if the word." He finished, and Sara sat against the chair and nodded silently. She blinked, and she tried to keep from crying. She finally met someone who understood, and finally found someone who would listen and believed her.
"It stoped hurting after a while though, and then I just felt nothing. Any time she yelled at me, I couldn't bring myself to care, or even... think of a way to react. I just became numb to it all, and gave up on ever being happy." She said, laughing a bit at her statement. "I mean, I can laugh and have a good time with Amy, and Mark, even you, but I always want to have something more... but I'm afraid to ask for it. And every time someone touches me... My brain short circuits, and I become a moron."
"You were neglected for most of your life, it was a bit obvious to me. When I touched your lip at the Mall, your eyes dilated. I couldn't tell if it was fear, or if it was just a response to the stimulus. I have had that happen to me, I am not used to compliments, or recieving affection. Same as you, I imagine." He said, and she covered her face and kicked with her good leg at the embarassment.
"I'm such a mess..." she whined, and Loki laughed. She opened her hands on either side of her face, and saw him laughing as he shook his head. He waved a finger in the air, and whistled through his teeth.
"Everyone has their own demons to battle, I believe it is how we face them or accept them, that is what defines us as people." He said, and she smiled at him as he stood up and returned to his painting. He started again, this time working with some yellow to add more color to the highlights as Mark appeared in the door with two bags of paint and he groaned.
"You gotta warn me next time, it took me four hours to figure out what a damn fan brush is." He complained, and he flexed his bad knee. He gave Loki a quick nod, and handed him the brushes he requested. "I had to ask a girl with a nose ring to show me what some of these are."
"I appreciate your efforts, and thank you for this." Loki replied, and Mark crossed his arms and looked at his work. He gave an expression of approval, and a nod.
"Not bad, it is really coming along." Je said, sucking on his teeth and nodding his head in appraisal.
"It has a ways to go, but it will be a nice work." Loki said, and mixed some paint on the pallette with the knife until it became the shade he wanted. Sara knew then, that their more private conversation was over, but she felt a little bit better about having it. It was like telling someone part of herself, and trusting them to be kind about it. Loki turned on his heels, walking to the window to use the natural light to get the color right and returned to his spot and began working some tree trunks into the foreground of the mountain.
"I can't even draw stick figures, but here you are, making some amazing trees and mountains. Like... Bob Ross, but without the hair." Mark said, and Loki raised an eyebrow at him. Sara laughed, and she shook her head.
"I will explain Bob Ross later." She offered, and Loki nodded as he returned to painting the mural. She smiled as Loki turned around and looked at Mark, he shrugged and something in the way he turned made her see something else.
Travis in his Jail Cell, pacing the floor as he turned back and walked the other way. Rage in him... promises to hurt her and make her suffer in his mind as he flexed his fists. She stared ahead, and he growled about how he was going to rape her when he got out, how he was going to make sure she never got away from him.
"Sara? Eart to Sara." Mark asked, snappung his fingers in her face, and she blinked as the vision faded and she looked at both of them. Something tickled inside her nose, and Mark ran into the bathroom as Loki put his pallette down and cupped his hand with dried paint on it under her chin. She coughed, and Mark returned with a wad of toilet paper and began cleaning her face up with it.
"Shit, the bleeding is not stopping, we may have to take her to the clinic." Mark said, and she shook her head and sniffed as she tipped her head back and held the tissue to her nostrils.
"I'm fine, but I have a bit of a headache now. Can you both stop crowding me?" She asked, and lowered her head to see a woman in a Victorian dress walk down the hall. She blinked, and tried to clear her head as the woman vanished as she moved away.
"You sure Bugs? You bled a whole lot." Mark asked her, and Loki looked at her as if he were studying her for a moment. She rolled her eyes, and shook her head. Loki keeping his eyes on her, and checking the dialiation of her pupils.
"I'm fine, really. I will let you both know if I am about to die. It was just a nose bleed, please calm down." She groaned, and sat back in her chair. Mark looked like he wanted to say more, but he let it drop as he took the tissue from her hands and walked to toss them in the garbage. Loki returned to painting, but still watched her as he worked.
--‐--
By the end of the week, Loki had finished the wall. Sara loved it, and everyone in their group was amazed by it. She even took a picture of it to send to Fury as part of her report for that week. She was impressed by how much he talked to her too, he had come out of his shell a bit and she thought about their talks as she admired her painting.
The beautiful stone archways he had painted with intricate carvings and the lush forest of trees. The clouds even looked like they were floating past her, and the castle in the distance rising toward the sky. She was excited to have it, and she smiled and gave him a hug for painting it.
"It's beautiful! Thank you!" She said, and admired his work. He held the spray can of acrylic sealer, having just given it all a second coat to ensure the art would not get damaged by any moisture in the air. She clapped her hands, and she admired the fairytale world he had painted for her.
"It is a view of Asgard, I thought it appropriate, given your love of the fantastic." He replied, and she laughed at him as she hugged him in appreciation. She felt butterflies in her stomach then, and she sat down on her bed to hide the feeling.
"Do you miss your home?" She asked him, and she saw his shoulders tense at the question. She looked down, and tried her best not to look nosy. He sprayed another section of the painting again, and sat down in the chair.
"I do, but to be honest with you, I would have been laughed at for painting this. Even my gifts with magic were the subject of ridicule. Here... here I have companions, and I want to keep them." He said, and gave her a smile. She nodded, and felt bad for him. He was alot like her in a way, the weird kid that didn't have friends until someone adopted them into their group.
"I totally would have been your friend, even there." Sara blurted out, internally mortified that she did that. She tried to play it off, but she couldn't find any other words to explain it better. He gave her a thin smile, and his eyes remained sad. He rubbed his palm together, being patient with her and he closed his eyes a moment.
"I want to offer something to you, but I don't want you to be afraid of it." He said, and sat in the chair. He picked up amd looked at the brushes in his hands, her stomach churning at the thought of him asking if they could be more than what they currently were. He let out a breath, and she fidgeted with her fingers. "I do have affections for you, and I feel that you believe you are helpless when it comes to defending yourself. What if I were to teach you, give you resources to protect your person from any harm."
"Like... teach me how to fight back? Self defense stuff?" She asked, and he looked at her in suprise as she smiled in excitement. She clapped her hands, and nodded. "Yeah! But I am horribly out of shape, maybe Mark can teach me some exercises to help me get stronger."
"He does have that skill. But I don't want you to be attacked again, I want you to be able to block, strike back, and defend yourself." He said, and she nodded. He stood up, and she realized that she thought that he was going to try and flirt, and her stomach sank. He picked up the box of paints, and hefted it in his hands, and began leaving. "I'm an idiot." She groaned, and rubbed her face.
"You are not an idiot!" He shouted back, and she started laughing at his response as she covered herself with the afghan and rested as she admired her mural. She saw a shadow out of the corner of her eye, and she watched for it again, one of the ghosts of the house making yet another appearance.
--
They rode in Mark's Jeep Wrangler, the clinic in an unassuming brick building. Loki sat in the front to give Sara more room in the back, her leg streched out across the seats. It was a cloudy day, but Loki seemed unbothered by it. She was excited though, the damn cast was coming off, and she would be free.
Mark walked around to her side of the car, Loki getting out on his, and opening her door. She slid her legs over the edge, and they both helped her down. She laughed, and Mark picked her up and carried her over his shoulder as Loki followed with her crutches over his shoulder. He looked amused as she held her other shoe in his hands, walking along as he took in his surroundings.
"You know, I should be walking on my own. That way the muscles in my leg stay strong." She groaned, Mark trying to grab the door. She was wearing a blue dress and a cardigan sweater to make it easier for her to manage the cast, and Loki caught up to them and opened the door for them.
"You can walk inside the Clinic, you are not fast enough right now to avoid cars Bugs." He said, and Sara laughed as they walked in. Mark set her down, and Loki handed her her crutches and found seating with Mark while Sara hobbled over to reception. The blonde girl behind the counter smiled, and began typing immediately.
"I have you checked in Miss. Pruitt. The doctor will call you back shortly!" She said, and Sara shrugged and sat between her two friends in the waiting area. A woman with her kid gave Loki a double take over her magazine, her mouth falling open at the sight of him. The little boy next to her stared at her cast, and he pointed at her.
"Mom! That lady broke her leg, just like James in my class!" He said, and his mother shushed him and looked embarrassed by his observation. "Did you fall off your bike too?"
"I fell down some stairs." She responded, not giving all the details. "Hey Claire, how is it going with the Cafe?"
"Its slow, but that happens this time of year. I still make better coffee and baked goods than that Starbucks, you can believe that." Claire Bosworth responded, her ash brown hair curling around her shoulders. She regarded Loki again, and shook her head. Claire never really judged people, she figured there was always another side to the story. She was also patient enough to listen to it, and she had the sort of personality that made you feel at ease with being in your own skin. Her four kids and herself were hit with tragedy four winters ago, her husband fell off a high rise construction site in Bellevue that he was working and died in the fall. The whole town respected her though, and she gave the older woman lots of silent awe in the way she carried herself. She offered Loki her hand to shake, and he was suprised by the gesture.
"Claire Bosworth, nice to meet ya Hunny." She smiled, and Loki shook the accepted hand. He let it go, and he gave her a polite smile.
"Loki." He replied, and Claire's magic worked on him. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well."
The door opened, and a nurse checked her clipboard, calling out Sara's name and they all rose as Claire gave them a wave. The nurse waited for Sara to catch up, and took them to a room, having Sara sat on the exam table. The cast felt heavy and uncomfortable as she sat with her legs dangling, and Mark claimed the chair while Loki stood in the corner. The gray haired Doctor came in, reading her file and nodding.
"Good Morning, I'm Doctor Martsen, how is your pain Sara?" He asked and she shrugged, and shook her head. They always asked that, and he looked at her sitting on the table, and he went digging through the cabinet and found the saw for cutting through the plaster.
"It will be better when I get the cast off, keeping my ankle in one position is a bit painful." She replied, and he nodded. He plugged it in, and sat down to read more of his notes. He flipped the pages, scanning them and he clicked his tounge.
"You went from ninety seven pounds to one hundred and ten. Better watch that waistline, you want to find a husband don't you?" He asked, and Sara felt self concous about her weight then. She saw how she had a tiny stomach roll, and she straightened her back to hide it. He checked more of her chart, and gave a listen to her heart and lungs. "Sounds good... yeah, don't eat so many sweets and snacks. That tummy will melt off when you start exercising."
"She is not fat, she looks fine." Mark said, and Sara got embarrassed by her body. She looked for a gut, but her stomach looked flat to her. She put on healthy weight after being sick, and she looked from Mark to Loki and wrapped her sweater shut to cover herself.
"It is just a warning, gotta look nice for those men." He said and handed her a package of baby wipes to clean her leg off after the removal. He turned the saw on, and began cutting her leg free. She became nervous, worried that he would scrape her leg but he did not. He then turned her, bisected the artwork on the cast and began cutting the gauze underneath. He then removed the cast, looking at her leg and running his gloved hand over it. He raised it, and she turned bright red as she realized that everyone could see up her skirt and she tried to keep herself covered.
"Looks good to me, you healed up nicely. You can get the smell off your skin with the wipes, and I suggest a lotion for any dry patches." The Doctor said, and gave her bare foot a tickle. Her head shot up on shock, and she gripped the edges of the exam table. Mark glared at him, standing up and crossing his arms. The Doctor backed up, and Loki handed her her shoe so she could put it on. She felt uncomfortable about the whole visit as the man left, and she began wiping her leg with the wipes to clean it a bit.
"Need help?" Mark asked, and he took a wipe and got her calf. Loki stood by, and she finished cleaning herself up, and made a little extra effort to clean the bottom of her foot where she was tickled. "Idiot Doctor, you are fine Sara. You are not fat at all."
"Thanks Mark, I should have worn shorts or something." She replied, keeping her cardigan wrapped around her like a shield. "I wouldn't have flashed everyone my underwear then."
"I looked at the floor." Mark said, and Loki gave her a thin smile as she put the other flat shoe on. She stood up carefully, and almost went back over at how weird it felt to have both feet even again. Loki grabbed her elbow, supporting her and Mark held her with an arm around her waist. Mark let go, and she could see something flash on Loki's face as he put a hand on the small of her back to help her.
"I was studying that tree out the window." Loki said, and supported her arm as she took her time walking. They met the receptionist to pay, and Amy found them. She gave Sara a hug, and she showed her friend her healed leg.
"Looking cute in your dress Bugs. You should go out to dinner or something, now that you can drive again!" Amy laughed, and Sara nodded. It had been ages since she had gone to The Rose Garden in Puyallup, and she felt her mouth begin to water at the idea of their Egg Flower Soup and Crab Rangoons.
"I may do that, I can schedule a dinner outing for me and Loki." She said, and got her card back after signing the reciept.
"I gotta get back to it, but I had to say "hi." You all have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't." Amy said, and she hugged everyone. She walked off in her white coat, and Sara walked with Loki and Mark to the Jeep. He opened the door to the car for her, offering her the front seat, and got into the back.
"You know, we should go to Mt. St. Helen's this weekend. It is supposed to be nice, and everyone has Saturday and Sunday off. I can send out a text, and we can ride down in two cars." Mark said, settling himself in. Sara nodded at the idea, and looked back at Loki, he had his hands folded between his knees and was tapping his heel on the floor panel like he was nervous.
"That sounds enjoyable. Is this a Nature excursion of sorts?" He asked, and Sara laughed at him. She had forgotten that he was not aware of their two active volcanoes, and she pointed to Mt. Rainier.
"Its a volcano, just like Mt. Rainier. There is a Visitor Center and everything at Johnston Ridge, it is a really pretty drive down there too." Sara answered, and he stared at the volcano in the distance. She laughed and Mark drove them back as she sat back in her seat. "It has alot of science stuff too. You can visit each of the Info Centers and walk around the paths. Just explore and see all you want to."
"I would like to see it then." He replied, and they soon turned toward the house. As they approached, they saw two black Escalades parked in front of the house. And a woman in a SHIELD Uniform stood by as Mark dropped them both off, she looked stern, and her black haircut was professional. Sara did ner best not to trip as they walked around the car. Loki helped her out of the jeep, making sure she was able to stand without hurting her leg again, and she waved bye to Mark.
"Send that text! We would have to leave super early in the morning!" Sara shouted, and he gave her a thumbs up as he drove away. The woman offered Sara her hand, and she shook it.
"Maria Hill, Miss Pruitt. I am here for Loki's scheduled Check In." She said, and Sara mentally groaned at forgetting about it. They said they would do a site check every three months, and she accidentally scheduled the appointment to get her cast off that day.
"I'm sorry we are late, I had a Doctor's appointment..." she started, but Maria cut her off.
"To have the Cast in your leg removed. Director Fury notified me when we left Sea Tac. This will not take long, I am just here to ensure that he has stayed withing the parameters of his release into your custody." She said, and Sara looked at the two armed men on her porch. Their suits were neat, and it was obvious that they were both wearing body armor under their clothing. She became nervous, and she folded her hands, and tried to be social as she gestured to the yellow and green Victorian house.
"Well, let's go inside. It is a bit cold out here, I can get you some tea or coffee." She said, and Loki followed them up the stairs to the porch. Sara unlocked the doors, and the foyer fireplace stood before them with the beautifully carved oak accents. Maria paused as the Agents followed them all in, admiring the piece and following Sara as she led the way up to the Office.
The two men made her feel caged in, and she wanted to squirm at their imposing presence. One gave her a thin smile, trying to look friendly to her, but it looked to her more predatory than he meant it to. She unlocked the office door, and they took positions around the room and kept their eyes on everything as they folded their hands in front of them.
"We will not be here long enough to consider this a social call. We are just here for a few questions about your welfare, and to see it he is behaving himself." She replied, all business radiating off of her as she offered Maria a seat, and Sara dragged another from against the wall for Loki over. He stopped her, moving the chair himself, and she sat behind her desk and folded her hands. Maria opened a file folder, and scanned the notes of what questions Fury had for her.
"There was a trip to South Hill Mall, what was purchased so that we can expense them?" Maria asked, and Loki looked down at the hiking boots he was wearing. She hoped they would not get into trouble, and she unlocked the desk and dug the reciept out of her desk drawer.
"I got him three pairs of shoes, he can't really go around barefoot. He might break a toe or cut his feet up." She said, and smiled at Maria, and she looked at the reciept. Sara took after her father in the respect of keeping excellent records. She also produced the Walmart reciept for his clothes and toiletries, handing it to Maria politely. The woman nodded, making several notes, and she gave her back the reciepts.
"SHIELD will reimburse you for the clothing." She said, leaving no room for argument. She flipped through the pages, and she read over everything again. "Six weeks ago, you were injured in an altercation on this property, who was the main Aggressor? Also, The police Report gives no mention of who stayed with Loki while you were away." She said, and Sara watched her for a long time. It was all really muddled in her head, and Loki cleared his throat and Maria gave him a stern look.
"Sherif Rogers was here with me, he will be glad to confirm that information." Loki said, and she made a note in the file and moved on. She scanned her notes, and closed the file.
"Has he made any sort of aggression toward you or any other person?" She asked, and Sara shook her head with a frown. She couldn't believe that the question was asked, but she still answered it.
"No, except for Travis, but that was in defense of me. He... I mean Travis attacked me, and Loki defended me." She replied, and Maria gave a nod and folded her hands. She stood up, and offered Sara her hand again, and she shook it.
"That is all for now, your reports are very detailed, and they give us much of what we need to know. I will see myself out." Maria said, and Sara watched her leave. She reached for the crystal candy dish, and took out a Chocolate Kiss, and pushed it toward Loki to take one.
"That was intense." Sara mumbled around the candy, chewing quietly. Loki gave a curt nod as they heard the Agents drive back down the driveway, and an overwhelming sense of how strange it all was fell over her. She stood up, and looked at Loki, and she really started to feel bad about him and his situation.
"I may read for a bit. Let's go out to dinner tonight, no dishes to clean up, and good food." She said, and Loki gave her a curt nod in agreement. She streched her back, and looked at her feet, and struggled with the questions she wanted to ask. Instead she walked toward the stairs, wanting a shower to really get the smell off her leg.